Love Starts in the Past
by Freaky-Hobbit 14
Summary: Hermione gets a crush on Snape, which messes up the future. She gets sent back to 1973 to start dating Snape then, so when she gets back to the present, he will hopefully love her. R&R HGSB, HGSS chapter 3 up!
1. Default Chapter

I'd like to thank princess jilla for allowing me to use her plot to invent a somewhat different story.  
  
Potions class. How come bad things ALWAYS happen in a potions class? Hermione wondered as she cleaned up a spilt cauldron. She had been gazing, yet again at her Professor. A bit out of character for Bookworm Granger, as some called her (mainly Malfoy when he wasn't calling her a Mudblood). She was in her 7th year at Hogwarts, and teenage hormones finally caught up with her. Professor Snape had become quite hansom in her eyes. When this happened, she'll never know. Love potion, she suspected at first, but the feeling wouldn't go away. Anyway, back to the spilt cauldron. Since she was gazing at *ahem* places other than her potion, she managed to bump her elbow against the cauldron to make it tip over, and a shrinking potion to be spilled on the floor, and some unfortunate classmates who then shrunk to the size of peanuts, while their little high pitched voices screamed: "Damn you, Granger" or "Fuck you!" Snape didn't here any of it, but he did manage to say. . .  
  
"Ms. Granger, are you adding "clumsy little girl" to your list of many. . .facinating. . .attributes?" hissed Snape. He said the word "fascinating" with drips of sexy sarcasm.  
  
"Uh. . .I um. . .guess I got a little too over enthusiastic about. . .brewing a new potion, sir," lied Hermione meekly.  
  
"Very well, 50 points from Gryffindor, and clean up this mess!" barked Snape. He didn't even bother with the pint sized students sitting in front of Hermione, but Hermione decided to help them out by performing a counter spell to bring them back to original size.  
  
So here we are again, watching Hermione clean up sticky orange goo, by waving her wand many times. See, since it's a shrinking potion, when the spell hits it, the spell. . .SHRINKS! So she has to hit it many times in order for the whole thing to disappear.  
  
After that embarrassment, the Dream Team made their way back to the dorms for bed. When Hermione got to her oh-so comfy bed, she noticed a little red box with a gold ribbon on it. She walked up to it hurriedly and picked it up. Before she opened it, she looked for a note. No such luck. She opened the box slowly and saw a beautiful silver necklace sitting on ruby colored velvet. On the chain was a small charm depicting an hourglass with gold plated on it to represent the sand. She thought it was a strange gift, since she didn't know what the hourglass was supposed to mean. (A/N: Duh, Miss smarty!) She hooked the clasp around her neck and almost immediately felt tired. As she looked around her, she saw swirling colors and then smears of people.  
  
"Hermione! Hey, Hermione, you're going to be late for your first day of class if you don't wake up!" yelled a red headed girl as Hermione slowly opened her eyes to stare at someone who looked vaguely familiar.  
  
"Wha. . .where am I?" asked Hermione, being very confused as to why there were people in her special Head Girl room.  
  
"You're in bed, silly! Now get up!" laughed the girl again.  
  
Hermione finally sat up in bed and looked around her in amazement. She wasn't in her room. . .she was in the girls' dormitory, and she didn't know any of the girls in there.  
  
"Who are you?" asked Hermione in a daze.  
  
"Oh, you must've forgotten my name. I'm Lily Evans remember?" replied Lily  
  
"What am I doing here?"  
  
"Well, you WERE sleeping, but you're here because you arrived last night on a train from another school. You were out of it last night and must've forgotten everything." Said Lily in an understanding tone.  
  
It took a while for the name Lily Evans to sink in, only because she's used to Lily Potter, but then realized that she was staring at a young version of Harry's mother. She realized instantly that she must be back in time. . .and the necklace must've had something to do with it.  
  
"I. . .need to do something," replied Hermione, as she shot out of bed and raced to the Headmaster's office. Once there, she tried opening the stone gargoyle, but didn't know the password. All of a sudden the stone gargoyle moved out of the way, and a younger Dumbledore appeared at the door.  
  
"Ah, Hermione. I see you have woken up," smiled Dumbledore with an odd sort of twinkle in his blue eyes.  
  
"Sir, what year is it, and why the hell am I apparently back in time?" half screamed half asked Hermione.  
  
"You are in the year 1973. Now, if you follow me to my new office, I will be happy to explain," replied Dumbledore, with a warm smile.  
  
"New office?"  
  
"Well, naturally, I haven't been Headmaster my whole life. Headmaster Dippet just retired, and has asked me to take his place," said Dumbledore, as if it was the most fascinating thing.  
  
Hermione nodded, and followed him up the stairs to a brightly lit office with many doodads and whatsits. Dumbledore motioned for her to take a seat across from his desk.  
  
"Alright, Hermione, since you are here now, you must've received the hourglass necklace I sent you," started Dumbledore with an amused look on his slightly wrinkled face.  
  
"Yes. . .wait, YOU sent it? Why in MERLIN'S name would you bring me back to 1973?" Hermione practically screamed.  
  
"Ah, yes, I shall explain. Chocolate?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Would you like a chocolate?" asked Dumbledore again, to the confused face that was Hermione. He held out a box of assorted toffees.  
  
"No, sir, I just want answers," answered Hermione warily.  
  
"Very well, it seems that you have acquired a rather interesting infatuation with a certain Potions Master, is that correct?" asked the all- knowing Dumbledore.  
  
Hermione blushed. "I wouldn't call it an infatuation, but yes, sir."  
  
"THAT was not supposed to happen. You see, raging hormones seem to have taken over you so that you have found a liking toward him, which caused some kind of "rift" in the time-space. . .thingy. So, as to not confuse you even more, I will just say that now, you and Severus need to form. . .dare I say, a kind of relationship, and not just any relationship. It needs to be a relationship that starts in the past, so that when you enter you're 7th year in the future, he will be "infatuated" with you, but it will take time. Severus does not easily fall for a student. Even a student as worthy as yourself"  
  
Hermione didn't even catch his compliment. Severus and her need to have a relationship? What could be worse? Sure she liked him, she thought him intelligent and mildly good-looking, but not the kind of person she'd want to be in a relationship with!  
  
Dumbledore noticed her far off face. "Child, don't worry. If you can handle a 17 year old Severus, you can handle him older. Your relationship with him now may even change what he's like when he's older."  
  
"OK. So you're saying, that I have to date him now, in order for him to like me in the future?" asked Hermione with a strange look on her face.  
  
"Yes and no. What I'm saying is: you will indeed need to date him now so he likes you. Maybe even love you. Then, once that part is complete, you will need to travel back to the day you left, but you will have to start the day over. Since it was your first day of classes, Severus will need to see you right when you first start, so that he can remember you in the past, and realize you're the girl he lost."  
  
"Um. . .yeah. OK, this is getting weird. I have to get him to love me now, so he will love me when I start 7th year, so we can fix the time-space thingy," summed up Hermione.  
  
"That is what I'm saying. Now, go to your classes, and talk to me if you have any questions."  
  
"Yes, sir," replied Hermione. She got up from her chair and made her way to the Great Hall for what was left of breakfast. Could this day get any MORE confusing? She thought.  
  
A/N: Alright. End of chapter 1. tell me, is that part really confusing for you? I mean about the whole Snape Hermione thing? If it is, then review it and tell me how I can make it less confusing. Or just tell me if it is. Flames are welcome. 


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you SO much for your reviews on the 1st chapter. I guess I explained everything right then! Alright, well you wanted it, you got it! The SECOND chapter.hopefully longer!  
  
Hermione's head was still spinning at what Dumbledore said. How can she make Snape. . .I mean Severus. . .fall in love with her? He's hardly ever had any relationships in his life as far as she can tell. Then he wouldn't be such a fucking ass! Harry did tell her about his Pensive, and how everyone picked on him. It definitely would be hard to make him fall for her, but she would do anything to help out the "time-space thingy".  
  
Hermione wasn't paying attention at all of her surroundings because of the thoughts in her head. BAM! She walked face first into the Great Hall's doors.  
  
"Shit!" whispered Hermione, while rubbing her head.  
  
"You know, you're supposed to open the doors and THEN walk through them. Unless of course you're a ghost," said a very familiar voice behind her.  
  
"What?" Hermione spun around fast to be face to face with none other than Sirius Black.  
  
"I said you need to open the doors. Unless you wanted a concussion."  
  
"Oh. Well I had more important things on my mind at the time," replied Hermione meekly.  
  
"You don't need to explain yourself to me. Have I seen you around? You're wearing the Gryffindor robes, and you look my age, but I don't remember ever seeing you," questioned Sirius.  
  
"I just transferred from a smaller school. I'm in the 7th year," replied Hermione with a smile. Sirius sure was handsome when he was younger. Hermione shook the thoughts from her head. She was supposed to be thinking about Severus, not Sirius.  
  
"So you don't know anyone then. Well my name is Sirius Black, and if we don't get into the Great Hall now, we'll miss breakfast," said Sirius in a know-it-all type fashion.  
  
With that, Sirius and Hermione entered the Great Hall. Both sat down at the Gryffindor table, Hermione next to Lily, and Sirius next to James.  
  
"Hello, Hermione. I was wondering when you'd make it. I see you've met Sirius," Lily said the last part in an undertone.  
  
"Yes, he seems very nice," Hermione replied with a bright smile.  
  
"He is, but you haven't met the rest of the "Marauders". They're a weird group, they are. This is Remus," she said, pointing to a thin boy with blondish hair. "This is James," said Lily as she pointed to a man with messed up black hair and glasses that looked a lot like Harry's. "And here we have the stupid pig who goes by the name of Peter," she said that loud enough so everyone could hear that remark. Hermione looked at a very angry chubby boy. She faked a smile.  
  
"It's great to meet you," nodded Hermione with a still bigger smile.  
  
All the boys looked at her and either bowed or winked. While Sirius and James got into a discussion about some Ravenclaw girl, Hermione looked around at the Slytherin table. She saw two large boys who must've been Crabbe and Goyle's dads, she also saw a thin blonde boy with a large nose. ~Must be Lucius Malfoy~ Hermione thought. Then she found her target: another thin boy with shoulder length black hair, and his nose in a book. A potions book at that. ~Yes, that must be Severus. He's actually pretty good looking. ~  
  
"Hermione, we're going to be late for Potions! Come on!" squealed Lily as she grabbed Hermione's sleeve and dragged her out of the Great Hall.  
  
Both of them walked and talked the whole way. They talked about the rather friendly Potion's Master, Professor Lockhart. (A/N: No, not Gilderoy, but his dad. I thought I'd put that in there for fun) Lily told Hermione he was very handsome, but was married and had a son. Gilderoy had graduated the year before. ~Damn~ Hermione thought. ~I'd like to see what he looks like now! ~  
  
Finally they had found their way to the Dungeons. Ah, some things never change. Potions with the Slytherins. Good thing though, Hermione will get a closer look at Severus. Hermione took her first step into the 1973 version of the Potions Classroom. Different. Severus treated it bad, apparently. The room was completely clean, and brightly lit. The tables looked newer, and the Professor's desk didn't look so messed up with papers and books. Everything was organized. ~I think I'm going to like this teacher. ~ Hermione thought with a smile.  
  
Hermione, Lily, James, Remus, Sirius, and Peter took their seats in the back. Hermione asked this out loud, since the teacher didn't seem all that bad. Lily said the boys like to mess around, and it's always fun to watch it up close. Hermione and Lily giggled.  
  
"Settle down, class! Today we will be pairing up for a potions project. I will be choosing the pairs, and yes, they will be pairings of Slytherin/Gryffindor." The class moaned one large simultaneous moan. "Now, now, it will be fun I assure you. Now when I call your name, please come up to the front so you will be assigned your potions. Then everyone will proceed to the library to research," announced Professor Lockhart.  
  
Lockhart began calling out names from both houses ("Evans and Malfoy"). Hermione looked at Lily with a large amount of sympathy. She knew Lucius was worse than Draco; a lot worse. Finally, Lockhart got to Hermione.  
  
"Granger and. . .Snape," said Lockhart. ~Great.~ Thought Hermione. ~It'll be easier to be friends with him. ~ But by the looks Sirius was giving her, it will still be a challenge. Hermione and Severus made their way up to the front of the class. They both locked eyes for a moment. Hermione stared hard into those dark eyes. Usually she could read what people were thinking by looking at their eyes, but Severus had no emotion. Hermione got to the front of the class faster, and Lockhart handed her the potion's name, and the ingredients they would have to use. Hermione looked at the paper and smiled; love potion. She turned her head to Severus, but he was already making his way to the door. She hurried to keep up.  
  
"We're making a love potion. This one is a fairly simple one, so we won't have to do that much research. Only 2 feet of parchment!" said Hermione with enthusiasm showing in her voice.  
  
Severus looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Were you planning on using that potion for something? Or someone?" asked Severus with amusement clear in his tone.  
  
"Well, no! I'm just saying it will be an easy task," replied Hermione, her face turning a deep crimson. "Things would get interesting though, if we managed to spill some. . ." added Hermione in an undertone.  
  
"What was that?" questioned Severus, referring to her undertone.  
  
"Oh, nothing," but Hermione had a viscous smile on her face. She was going to have fun with this project.  
  
Severus saw that smile on her face and really looked at her. ~ She's really pretty. It would be a "shame" if some of that potion spilled while we were finishing it. I'm really going to have fun with this project, ~ he thought to himself. Severus immediately erased those thoughts from his head. He shouldn't be thinking those things about a girl he's just met. She hasn't even been going to this school for longer than 24 hours! He couldn't help but smile at himself. She seems like one of the smarter students.  
  
**TEN HOURS LATER**  
  
"OK," said an exasperated Hermione. "I think we have all the info we need. We just missed all our classes today from staying here studying, we'll be in so much trouble tomorrow, but I still think we need more information even though we have 2 feet of parchment already, it wouldn't hurt to go that extra mile. . ."  
  
"Hermione, shut up. We have enough information. We don't need your big giant brain anymore," replied an annoyed Severus. "Besides, no one will mind we've been working on a project all day. No one usually does."  
  
"Well, Snape, if you don't need me anymore, I'll just go to bed. I think you can handle all this on your own," puffed Hermione as she got up from the table and rushed out of the library.  
  
"I told you, call me Severus. It's not like you have to call me by my last name, GRANGER," whispered Severus to himself. He was getting very annoyed with her.  
  
Hermione stomped up to the dorms, but before she could make it, she ran right into Sirius.  
  
"Where are you headed, almighty bookworm," said Sirius with a smile.  
  
"Up to the dorms, and I'm not a bookworm!" replied Hermione with a blush.  
  
"Well according to the 5 shades of red on your face, I'd say you WERE a bookworm; but don't worry. I won't tell anyone," whispered Sirius into her ear. He then stood up tall and winked. Hermione blushed a deeper red. With that, Hermione walked past him. "Hey, wait! Sorry if I said anything I shouldn't have, but I was wondering if you wanted to go somewhere with me," said Sirius while pulling her back.  
  
"Like where?" asked Hermione with a confused look.  
  
"Just follow me," whispered Sirius as he threw a cloak over them. "This is an invisibility cloak. I borrowed it from James."  
  
Sirius then led Hermione down the many corridors and stairs until they got to the grounds.  
  
"Sirius, what are we doing? We aren't supposed to be out on the grounds at night!" scolded Hermione.  
  
"Lighten up will you? Just follow me," Sirius then began running across the grounds near the Whomping Willow. Hermione tried to run fast, but she couldn't keep up with his pace, so he turned around and grabbed her hand, and led her to the foot of the tree. "Stay here OK? This tree isn't exactly that friendly." Sirius picked up a long stick and tapped a knot at the base of the trunk, and the tree stood very still. "OK, come on." Sirius grabbed her hand again, and led her to a tunnel that ran underground. He went in first and then helped her down. Hermione knew exactly where they were going; The Shrieking Shack.  
  
Hermione and Sirius walked through the small, dimly lit tunnel for what seemed like forever. Finally they made it to a semi dusty old house with boards on the windows. Not nearly as messy as it was when Hermione saw it last.  
  
"Hermione, this is the Shrieking Shack. A secret place for James, Remus, Peter, and I. Do you want to know why it's so secret?" asked Sirius, his eyes bright with mischief.  
  
"Um. . .sure," replied Hermione, even though she knew exactly what the place was for.  
  
"I've never told many this, but Remus is a werewolf. He got bitten a while back, and this place was built for him to change into the werewolf on the full moons. If you don't believe me, I can prove it to you. See, after a while, Remus got lonely of being here every month alone. So therefore, James, Peter, and I became Animagi. Do you know what an Animagus is?" Hermione nodded. "OK. Well, we are unregistered, of course, so you can't tell anyone. I can become a dog, Peter is a rat, and James is a stag. Any questions?" asked Sirius.  
  
"Yes, actually I do. Why did you bring me here?" questioned Hermione. "I mean, all of this stuff seems so secret, and very dangerous if someone found out; and you've hardly known me."  
  
"Well, I've taking a liking to you. James has always gotten the girl, and by girl I mean Lily. I've never had one, and I felt a connection between us, I guess you could say. Well, that, and everyone in our group knows about this except you, and I assume you'll be staying at Hogwarts," replied Sirius, a hopeful look in his bright blue eyes.  
  
"Yeah, I will," said Hermione with a sigh. She shouldn't be doing this. She doesn't even know how long she'd be there.  
  
"Hermione?" asked Sirius. Hermione turned to look at him, and he leaned down slowly and kissed her softly. She was shocked at what he did. She wasn't expecting that. It felt right to kiss him, but she should be kissing Severus, not Sirius. Dumbledore would've told her who she should be kissing. He DID tell her. Hermione quickly pulled away.  
  
"I'm really sorry, but I can't be doing this. It's just too complicated," with that, she ran out of the Shrieking Shack and found her way back inside the school. Without James' cloak, it would be very easy to get caught. She ran to the 1st place she could think of: Dumbledore's office. She had to speak to him. 


	3. Chapter 3

Here we go, chapter 3! I'm so happy with all the reviews I've gotten. They help a lot!!! KEEP EM COMING! And I'll feed ya more of my story!  
  
Hermione ran as fast as she could toward the only place she could think to go to get some needed answers. Finally, after what seemed like hours of running, Hermione came to the stone Gargoyle, out of breath.  
  
"Shit," Hermione whispered to herself. She didn't know the password. Well, she knew he liked sweets. "Pumpkin Pasties," shot Hermione; nothing happened. "Cauldron Cakes," still nothing. Then it came to her: "LEMON DROPS!" screamed Hermione, and the Gargoyle jumped out of the way. Hermione ran up the stairs and banged on the Headmaster's door, hoping he wasn't asleep.  
  
"Come in, Miss Granger. I knew you'd be coming," said Dumbledore, with slight amusement in his voice.  
  
Hermione shot open the door and got right up in Dumbledore's nose.  
  
"Why am I here again, Sir? To fall in love with Severus, or Sirius?" fumed Hermione. "I was just in the Shrieking Shack with Sirius, and he KISSED ME! Don't you get it, Mr. "I see all"? Your "brilliant" little plan has a little flaw, if you haven't noticed!" she continued, only taking a break to get a breath.  
  
"Miss Granger, I do have an explanation for you. I must say, I never expected Sirius to let his feelings out so soon!" said Dumbledore with a chuckle, as though this whole thing was one big joke.  
  
"What are you talking about? You KNEW Sirius liked me?" questioned a confused Hermione.  
  
"Well, of course, naturally. I just figured he wouldn't "express" himself until after you and Severus got together. I must say, this has presented another problem."  
  
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Headmaster, I must ask you to please return me to the future. I can't take this sick little joke anymore. Haven't my feelings come into consideration?" asked Hermione, a single tear sliding slowly down her cheek.  
  
"Yes, Miss Granger, I am well aware of what this may be doing to you, but unfortunately I can't return you until you've fulfilled your purpose here." Hermione was ready to speak, but Dumbledore held a hand up to silence her. "Please child, let me continue. Many things have happened that I never dreamed. It seems you have to figure out your purpose here on your own. I can no longer help you. You must choose with your heart to which man you want to go to. What will happen in the future, depends on who you choose. If you choose Sirius, he will not have died that day 2 years ago. If you choose Severus, then life will go on as it should have before you chose to like him, though you two will have a steady relationship. Once you've made your decision, you will be transported forward into your time."  
  
"This is getting too hard. It was so simple before. I don't know where to turn," whispered Hermione in exasperation. It was true, she like Sirius, but she didn't know Severus that well yet to choose between one of them.  
  
"I suggest you return to your room and sleep on it. You don't need to decide now. You have until the end of the term at Hogwarts."  
  
"Yes, sir. Goodnight."  
  
Hermione made her way slowly to her dorm, thinking about the possibilities. She could save Sirius's life if she chose him! Harry would be so happy, and she would be just as happy. If she chose Severus, her life would be normal, instead of slightly out of whack. If Harry ever found out about what her decisions would cost, he would be mad. Hermione was talking to herself, staring at the floor, so she did not realize it when she bumped right into Severus.  
  
"Holy shit! Oh, Severus, you scared me!" gasped Hermione.  
  
"Next time you should watch where you're going," replied Severus with a sneer. He was nicer before. . .what happened?  
  
"Well, sorry. You don't need to be all smug about it," snapped Hermione. She rather liked the way he treated her before.  
  
"Just get out of my way, I have places to go," hissed Severus, as he walked past her.  
  
"What is your problem?" inquired Hermione, yanking on Severus' robes to get him to turn around.  
  
Severus got right up in her face. "Well excuse me, whore, but I don't know what you're talking about."  
  
"Whore? Are you kidding me? I am NOT a whore!" yelled Hermione, eyes wide. What was he getting at?  
  
"Well, the least you could've done was not kiss the bastard before you knew him!" shot back Severus.  
  
"Were you spying on me? How dare you interfere with my personal life! I know Sirius plenty well, thank you," hissed Hermione back to Severus.  
  
"Yeah, you know the back of this throat!" Severus shot daggers at her.  
  
"The kiss didn't mean anything! I wasn't even paying attention to it!" ~Shit~ thought Hermione. Why did she tell him she had other things on her mind at the time?  
  
"What?" asked Severus, dumbstruck.  
  
"You heard me. I wasn't thinking about Sirius. I was thinking about this," whispered Hermione as she grabbed his face and kissed him.  
  
Severus was startled at what she did. Her kiss was good alright, but he wasn't expecting it. Severus then put his arms around her waist and brought her closer. Hermione slowly snaked her fingers in his silky black hair.  
  
~This kiss is definitely better than Sirius'~ she thought. ~Though I didn't pay that close attention to it~  
  
The kiss slowly deepened, Severus began sucking on her lower lip, and running his tongue across it. Hermione willingly opened her mouth, letting his tongue explore. He then hesitantly touched her tongue, and she began running her tongue along his, and then made its way into his mouth. After a few more seconds, they broke away, only for the lack of air.  
  
Hermione stared into his black eyes; they were glazed over from their actions, but she could see the same desires in his eyes, as she was sure were showing in hers.  
  
"Um. . .I-" Severus stuttered, not thinking of anything to say.  
  
"I agree," smiled Hermione. "As much as I'd like to continue, I really need to get to sleep," said Hermione shyly, their arms still around each other.  
  
"Right, well I'll see you tomorrow then," whispered Severus, hoarsely. He then bent down and gave her a small kiss on the lips, before giving a quick smile and walking in the opposite direction as Hermione would go.  
  
Hermione stared back at him, realizing she loved his kiss and wanted a lot more. She then skipped up to Gryffindor Tower, feeling much happier than she had all day.  
  
**NEXT DAY**  
  
"You kissed him?!" screeched Lily, as Hermione told her about last night's events, from Sirius' kiss all the way to Severus. They were sitting on Hermione's bed before they went to breakfast.  
  
"Shh! Not so loud, and yes, I did kiss him. Slytherin or not, it was worth it," said Hermione with a bright smile on her face.  
  
"Wow. You have many more guts than I do. I still can't believe you kissed 2 guys last night; and on your 1st day of classes no less!" smiled Lily.  
  
Hermione blushed at her comment. She didn't realize it all happened her first day. Even though she did know the men, she couldn't tell Lily that.  
  
"What about James? Haven't you kissed him yet?" inquired Hermione to her new found friend.  
  
"How could you tell we were together? We've tried to keep it a secret from our closest friends, and none of them had figured it out yet! And to answer your question, yes, we have kissed, but not that much!" blushed Lily.  
  
"Oh, well. . .I'm very good at deducing you two fancied each other," lied Hermione picking at the hem of her robes.  
  
"Hermione, we better head down to the Great Hall. It's in the middle of breakfast," realized Lily, as she grabbed Hermione's arm and pulled her off the bed.  
  
At breakfast, Sirius kept trying to get Hermione's eye, wondering if she would still like him after what happened last night. Hermione's thoughts were elsewhere; she looked over at the Slytherin table and saw Severus sitting at the table with a trace of a smile on his face. He then looked up and locked eyes with Hermione; they both smiled. With his eyes, Severus motioned for her to meet him in the Entrance Hall after she finished breakfast; she nodded.  
  
Hermione rushed to finish breakfast, told everyone she needed to study, and winked at Lily, so Lily would know really where she was going. Hermione got up and strode to the doors, trying to act normal, but really she was anxious about what would happen. She opened the doors, and found Severus leaning against the Entrance doors.  
  
"Milady," bowed Severus, with a joking smile on his face.  
  
"Sir," curtsied Hermione, the same stupid smile shown plainly on her face.  
  
Severus then walked up to her and kissed her hand, never breaking eye contact with her, making Hermione blush.  
  
"Want to walk out to the lake with me? Classes don't start for another 30 minutes," asked Severus, taking hold of her hand and already leading her outside.  
  
"Looks like I have no choice," joked Hermione as they walked out in the warm air.  
  
Once at a hidden spot on the outside of the lake, Severus transfigured a large rock into a soft blanket for them to sit on. They sat in silence for a while, watching the giant squid's tentacles protrude from the water every few seconds.  
  
"Enjoying the new school?" asked Severus, not thinking of anything else interesting to say.  
  
"Yes, I feel at home here, and I have great classes," replied Hermione.  
  
"You like the learning?" asked Severus, curious to the fact she enjoyed the classes.  
  
"Yes, I've always wanted to learn. I read constantly, and I love to spend late nights reading school books or random potions or charms books. I'm interested in them the most," replied Hermione truthfully. "What about you?"  
  
"I love potions. It's the only class I can really handle. I hope to be a Potions Master once I get all the degrees for it. I also love reading. I've been picked on a lot for it, though. Mainly by the damn "Marauders" or whatever they call themselves," said Severus, with a tinge of hatred when referencing the Marauders.  
  
"They aren't that bad. I guess you have to be a true Gryffindor to really like them," chuckled Hermione.  
  
"So, do you like Sirius?" asked Severus, hesitantly.  
  
"Well, he's a lot different from me, being the troublemaker that he is. Maybe that's what makes him exciting, but really, I just want someone who can keep my attention long enough, and at least have close to the same intellect as me," said Hermione, not realizing she described Severus.  
  
Severus then looked relieved.  
  
"Well, it's getting close to classes, so we'd better head back to the school," said Hermione, changing the subject.  
  
"Right. Almost lost track of the time," replied Severus, helping Hermione up off the ground and taking her hand while walking back to the school.  
  
Potions class was fairly simple. They had to complete their potion that they started the research on the day before.  
  
"OK, now add the boomslang," instructed Hermione, remembering another potion she had to use boomslang skin for.  
  
The potion began to boil and hiss as Severus dropped the skin in. It then turned a deep purple. They achieved the 1st half of the love potion, and the rest needed to be done the next day.  
  
Severus took the cauldron up to the front of the class to the teacher for safe keeping until the next day. Meanwhile, as Hermione sat there, Sirius tried to get her attention.  
  
"PSST! Hermione, over here," whispered Sirius, as he slightly waved his hands to get her to look at him.  
  
"What is it?" hissed back Hermione.  
  
"I was wondering if you wanted to study together tonight. I mean, we have the same classes, and I really need to ace the N.E.W.T.'s this year, and James, Remus, and Peter don't study that hard. You're the one with the brains!" smiled Sirius.  
  
Hermione looked at him for a moment. She was probably going to have plans with Severus, but she wanted to have another chance with Sirius, too. Of course she knew they really wouldn't be studying. The male testosterone was too high. Finally she said:  
  
"If I don't have any other plans tonight I will meet you in the back of the library OK?"  
  
"Great, see you then!" whispered Sirius excitedly, completely missing the fact that she said "if I don't have any other plans". He then turned his attention to his potion that was smoking furiously.  
  
"Alright, class. If you have completed your day's worth of potion making, then please head to your next class," said Professor Lockhart.  
  
Hermione then met up with Lily, and made her way to Herbology. 


End file.
